No Need To Rush

Dave Fairbank

He could be a Duck, an Eagle or a Buckeye. Ohio State, Boston College, Oregon. No particular order. No favorite at the moment.

Before Phoebus High quarterback and top-shelf recruit Tajh Boyd decides on his next address, he swears that he will lock his impulses in the trunk and take several hundred deep breaths.

"I'm going to take my time and evaluate all my options," Boyd said Monday, only hours after returning from his latest trip, to Eugene, Ore., and Duck Land.

If you followed the Phantoms' marvelous state championship season and local football recruiting, you're probably aware that Boyd's elongated path has taken a pair of 90-degree detours, one of his own doing, the other not.

He reneged on a springtime commitment to West Virginia and reopened the recruiting process this fall. He then visited Tennessee and committed to the Volunteers, unfortunately just days before coach Phil Fulmer was canned, effective at the end of the season.

New Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, late of the Oakland Raiders and the steel-cage-match staredown with spectre-in-charge Al Davis, promptly informed Boyd that, stylistically, he was not the new coach's cup o' joe.

Kiffin said that he would honor Fulmer's scholarship offer, but that more than likely Boyd would have to enjoy his SEC experience from the sidelines.

"It was kind of frustrating at first," Boyd said. "It was a hard decision, because that's the place you're going to spend the next four or five years of your life. But I'm glad he told me that, Lane Kiffin told me that now, instead of me getting there and not getting the chance to play the position."

Phoebus coach Bill Dee wasn't nearly so magnanimous, demonstrating that Kiffin is capable of aggravating football bosses on both coasts.

"Lane Kiffin is getting credit for being honest with the kid by telling him that he'll honor his scholarship," Dee said. "Honoring a scholarship isn't telling a kid you can come to school here, but you're not going to play. That's not honoring a scholarship.

"Honoring a scholarship, to me, is saying you can come to school and we'll give you a chance to compete, which he did not do."

Dee's irritation reflex kicks in when he hears people say that at least Kiffin was honest with Boyd.

"Guys that cheat on their wives and then tell them are honest, too," Dee said, "but it doesn't go over real well. So I'm not giving Lane Kiffin an out on this one. I'm not real happy with the way he handled this."

For his part, Boyd sounds as though he has moved on from the initial disappointment. He visited Ohio State the weekend after the state championship game and Oregon this past weekend. He visited BC unofficially two years ago, but has had several conversations with Eagles head coach Jeff Jagodzinski and his staff.

Boyd has one official visit remaining and said he has tentative plans to go to BC next month, some time after he appears in the U.S. Army prep all-star game Jan. 3 in San Antonio. He has no timetable for committing or signing.

All three of Boyd's finalists have underclass quarterbacks returning. Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor is a true freshman. Boston College's Dominique Davis, who took over for injured Chris Crane, is a redshirt freshman. Oregon played three quarterbacks this season, the oldest of whom is a redshirt sophomore.

None, Boyd said, is a deal-breaker. He can see himself at any of the three schools.

"For the most part," Boyd said, "they all have the same quarterback situation, where I'd come in and compete for the position. But right now, I just want to pick the school that I would enjoy the most - the academics and everything."

Boyd cited the superior academic reputations of Boston College and Ohio State, and Oregon's top-rated sports marketing program, a product of the school's cozy relationship with Nike, courtesy of company founder and Ducks alum Phil Knight.

Notably absent in Boyd's recruiting discussions are the state's two primary programs: Virginia and Virginia Tech.

The Hokies put all of their quarterback-recruit eggs in the Kevin Newsome basket before he picked Penn State. Virginia showed only marginal interest throughout.

"I've been in Virginia most of my life," Boyd said, "but I want to get away from it for a little bit. I have a lot of support here, but I think I'd like to see something different.

"Nothing against Tech or U.Va. They're both great programs, but I'd like to get out of state."

The glow from the Phantoms' state title run has faded a bit as Boyd concentrates on schoolwork and his college choice.

"I'm going to miss these guys a lot," he said, "but I'm kind of ready to move on."

Amen.

COMING THIS WEEK

We made our selections, but you have to wait until Christmas Day to unwrap our Daily Press All-Stars in football. Pick up Thursday's edition for more.

HRVARSITY

Already online are the Daily Press All-Stars in field hockey, boys and girls volleyball, and boys and girls cross country. For photos of our All-Star selections, visit dailypress.com/allstarphotos.

Dave Fairbank can be reached at 247-4637 or by e-mail at dfairbank@dailypress.com. For more from Fairbank, read his blog at dailypress.com/fromthetarpit.